FY10 STA-21 Applicants gather round!

[xtreme_rob]

To tell you the truth, they are going to ask you some very simple questions.

1) They are going to give you a leadership situation in which you are going to have to make a decision.

2) They are going to ask you why you want to be a pilot (be honest, they sincerely want to know).

3) They are going to ask you what you are going to do if you get selected for CORE and don't get to be a pilot.

In your board, take time to think. The questions are going to be challenging because none of the board members want to hear some shit that you memorized ten minutes earlier.

Yeah that was pretty much what my internal board consisted of. Its funny, I feel less nervous going into my external board than I did with my internal...

 

[xtreme_rob]

Stressed

So here's the scenario:

My internal board went pretty well from what I thought. I got my CO's recommendation form and my Interviewer's appraisal sheets back today. My CO gave me all Outstandings on his recommendation. One of the Department heads, a LT (who just so happens to have one of his guys going up as well) gave me a very mixed appraisal, but a good write up. He gave me 3 Goods, 1 Excellent, a 5 out of 10 and a VERY HIGHLY MOTIVATED FOR PROGRAM. His descriptive words for me were: Intelligent, Polite, Articulate, Sincere, Honest, and Eager. I am unsure of what I really did wrong. He hasn't been at the command in several months due to an injury and I believe this was his first time to stand a STA-21 board.
I am just so wrecked about this. I don't want anything to inhibit my chances for selection.
How much weight do you think his appraisal sheet will hold?

 

[SkywardET]

How much weight do you think his appraisal sheet will hold?

I think it will probably hold as much weight as the instruction says it will hold. The most important things are your personal statement and your CO's recommendation, according to the instruction, so as long as those are stellar, you've got as good a shot as most going up for it.

There's nothing much you can do about politics except rise and overcome it. If your outside interview comes up with all stellar marks, that will give you more ammunition at the board. Just concentrate, quiz yourself on all kinds of questions--question your own motivation and what you think your capabilities are. How would you respond in a [specific] crisis? Why do you truly want to do this? Etc.

Give yourself the advantage by having as much clarity of thought as you can get. Practice your interviewing skills with anyone who will help. Dress your best for the interview (i.e. dress whites with ribbons) no matter what anyone tells you.

 

[joshuaphill822]

CoC headache

I know we're getting down to the wire here, but had a last minute question, and I'd like to get some other opinions on the subject. I'm applying for NFO this year. My CO is in VA and I'm in FL. I was supposed to do a phone interview with him last week so he could fill out the CO recommendation form, didn't get it done. He wants to let my OIC do it (LCDR) and sign it by direction. Asked Ed Straten if this would be okay, and didn't get a real clear answer. He said he thought it would be okay but depends on what the actual board members thought. Anyone have a similar situation?

I got my Nomination Review Board today over at NAS Jax, will be nice to get this thing in the mail.

 

[xtreme_rob]

I know we're getting down to the wire here, but had a last minute question, and I'd like to get some other opinions on the subject. I'm applying for NFO this year. My CO is in VA and I'm in FL. I was supposed to do a phone interview with him last week so he could fill out the CO recommendation form, didn't get it done. He wants to let my OIC do it (LCDR) and sign it by direction. Asked Ed Straten if this would be okay, and didn't get a real clear answer. He said he thought it would be okay but depends on what the actual board members thought. Anyone have a similar situation?

I got my Nomination Review Board today over at NAS Jax, will be nice to get this thing in the mail.

If the reasonings behind the situation are fully explained in your endorsement, you shouldn't get penalized according to the instruction. There aren't any more amplifying documents I've found that show otherwise. You just HAVE to make sure they know why, and geo seperation from the command is a hell of a good excuse. You should be fine. MAKE THE DEADLINE!

 

[xtreme_rob]

Finally done with my package, the nomination review board went amazingly well!

 

[haubby]

Congrats man! Now let the waiting start... Thats probably the worst part of the whole process.

 

[joshuaphill822]

If the reasonings behind the situation are fully explained in your endorsement, you shouldn't get penalized according to the instruction. There aren't any more amplifying documents I've found that show otherwise. You just HAVE to make sure they know why, and geo seperation from the command is a hell of a good excuse. You should be fine. MAKE THE DEADLINE!

Thanks, thats what I figured. I actually just got my hard copy back in the mail from my CO, got a great endorsement from him, and he signed the Recommendation form. Only thing he didn't sign was the interview verification form. I don't think that will be as big of a deal. And that's something Ed said could be faxed after the deadline if need be.

Also finished my Nomination board on Monday. Didn't go as well as I hoped, but hopefully I didn't screw it up enough to ruin my chances. First interview went great, and feel like the rest of my package is great, so I guess I'll just mail it off and try not to think about it for the next 3 MONTHS!

 

[xtreme_rob]

Thanks, thats what I figured. I actually just got my hard copy back in the mail from my CO, got a great endorsement from him, and he signed the Recommendation form. Only thing he didn't sign was the interview verification form. I don't think that will be as big of a deal. And that's something Ed said could be faxed after the deadline if need be.

Also finished my Nomination board on Monday. Didn't go as well as I hoped, but hopefully I didn't screw it up enough to ruin my chances. First interview went great, and feel like the rest of my package is great, so I guess I'll just mail it off and try not to think about it for the next 3 MONTHS!

Here's what I did prior to my Nomination review board (and it seemed to work well) :

• Chug a BFC Monster
• Let it set in
• Let my mind race with thoughts of any stupifying question that may be thrown at me.
• Watch myself answer the question in the mirror, while practicing posture and poise.

Even if the questions are completely different than what you're actually asked, it gets your mind working and you start thinking outside of the box.
I think the Monster did the talking for me; I walked out of there thinking, "How the hell did I pull that off???"
Long story short, the Skipper ranked me number 1 of 5 candidates that he had interviewed this cycle and gave me an amazing right up.
Each board member gave me all outstandings and awesome amplifying statements.

My package was mailed out this morning.
Now the wait BEGINS! As the anxiety grows...
Good luck to everyone, and congrats for making it this far!

 

[et1nuke]

Congrats man! Now let the waiting start... Thats probably the worst part of the whole process.

Indeed!

 

[jwac85]

I just finished my nomination review board and I feel confident about how it went, although they threw a question out there that I had no idea how to answer and I sounded like stammering idiot when I tried to give an educated answer..."If I were a JO in charge of a division, how would I try to prevent my junior enlisted personnel from making any poor decisions regarding drugs or alcohol?"

Anybody have any idea what a good answer might have been? I tried to elude to being proactive in my division and making sure that I stayed up to date on how they were performing by talking to my DIV Chief and LPOs.

 

[Gardito85]

I put sent my package in back in March so once I mailed it away I didnt really think about it too much after that. NOW however it's almost July, and the jitters are back. If I do get picked up I'm gonna have to explain to them why I don't have any nails left.

-Gardo

PS I heard a rumor at work that pilots are undermanned right now. Some dude heard it from an officer recruiter, anybody else heard that?

 

[xtreme_rob]

I put sent my package in back in March so once I mailed it away I didnt really think about it too much after that. NOW however it's almost July, and the jitters are back. If I do get picked up I'm gonna have to explain to them why I don't have any nails left.

-Gardo

PS I heard a rumor at work that pilots are undermanned right now. Some dude heard it from an officer recruiter, anybody else heard that?

I heard the same rumor disguised as gouge... not sure about the validity of it.. but we can only hope huh?

 

[xtreme_rob]

PS I heard a rumor at work that pilots are undermanned right now. Some dude heard it from an officer recruiter, anybody else heard that?

Can anyone shed any light or provide a source on this?

 

[blizzy]

Looks like NRB will probably be Tuesday since Monday's are usually shot. The base CO all of a sudden won't be available. Command is trying to set something up quick. As long as it's postmarked on Wednesday!